Ashcroft, British Columbia, May 16, 2011 – It has been a long wait, but after nearly a decade as the leading motorsports sanctioning body in all of Canada, the IHRA is finally bringing divisional racing to the north with the debut of the Border Bandits Summit Pro-Am division this weekend at the Nl'akapxm Eagle Motorplex in British Columbia.
It was nearly two decades ago when the IHRA first came to Canada, making its grand entrance in Toronto back in 1992, and now, nearly 20 years and dozens of Canadian national events later, the IHRA is permanently setting up shop with a brand new Summit Pro-Am division set to kick off this weekend in British Columbia with the first of three events in the newly created Division 6, also known as the Border Bandits Division.
"This is something we have been working toward for a long time. We have been reaching out to racers on the west coast for a long time and with the creation of the new division and with so many great tracks getting involved I think this is the first step in really making some noise in areas of the country we have never touched before," said Frank Kohutek, IHRA Division Director. "We are excited to get a new era in IHRA drag racing underway this weekend with the newly created Division 6."
And in anticipation of the inaugural Summit Pro-Am event in Division 6, Nl'akapxm Eagle Motorplex has been busy during the offseason getting the facility ready with numerous upgrades and enhancements. Over the past few months track officials have been hard at work completely resurfacing the track, adding new pit spots and upgrading the various facilities on the property.
"Spring has finally arrived here in Ashcroft and with that brings along all the updates and improvements planned for the 'Plex this coming race season," said Joe Sye. "We have been busy with numerous projects including resurfacing the track, enlarging the end of track and redoing the washrooms and shower areas. We are also installing 20 new paved pit spots on the upper side making room for the large race haulers.
"We are looking forward to the upcoming season working with the IHRA and also hosting the first Pro-Am event in the newly formed Border Bandits division."
The Division 6 Border Bandits will open their season this weekend with the first and second races of the season at the Nl'Akapxm Eagle Motorplex in British Columbia. The third and fourth races will take place the weekend of June 3-5 at Castrol Raceway in Edmonton. Both races will be double race weekends.
The fifth and final Summit Pro-Am race of the season in Division 6 will take place simultaneously with the MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nitro Jam Nationals at Castrol Raceway the weekend of June 24-26.
Racers will score points using five out of five races with no out of division claims allowed.
The newly created division is the next step in the IHRA's plan to expand its grassroots, regional and national series to the west coast. In addition to being the top motorsports authority in Canada, the IHRA has also seen growth in the western United States with the addition of new tracks in Utah and Arizona with more still to come.
For more information about the Summit Pro-Am Series visit www.ihra.com.
